How to fix a iPhone 3G or 3Gs with water damage by Tech Life

[BRANDIGLER]

I droped my ipod touch in water last year i put it in rice right after not taken apart everything but my home button works fine

What it does is like it presses itself if im watching youtube it just exits some times

[HazzaG2010]

Whats for dinner? "iPhone and Rice!"

[mrrandomness531]

mine was dunked in water a few hours before this comment... i was told to put the whole thing in rise and now my iTunes won't recognize is and i can't restore it... wutt do i do now?

[TechLifeMobile]

@mrrandomness531 Next time use rice instead. If you follow the video it shows you what to do. Take it everything apart and place it in rice. This helps if it is still wet. If you are not comfortable taking it apart ship it to us and we can fix it.

[LexDollar]

I haven't taken apart the phone (dropped in the toilet, same situation as last poster) I dried the phone as best I could when I took it out, but then I stupidly stuck it on the charger at that point it made a vibrating sound, so I immediately took it off the charger and found the rice trick thing. I am in Ireland by the way. So basically I just put it in rice not dissassembled at all and a couple of hours later a white light started coming on - but nothing else. put in dfu mode and bk in rice

[TechLifeMobile]

@LexDollar Just putting the whole thing in rice will not help. It must be taken apart.

[MrModel909]

my iphone 3g .. was dropped in the tolilet ..i opened it and drie d it out ..it doesnt turn on or boot up .. could it be the Charger Port Dock ..or the battery ?

[TechLifeMobile]

@MrModel909 Toilet is never good. Probably the dock connector, the battery, or our motherboard has too much corrosion and has become brittle.

[MrModel909]

@MrModel909 thankx x. !! ur tutorial worked %100 fixed the iphone .. and even took apart the LCD , clean the water inside .

[manu703]

my 3gs just got water damaged everything is working fine but my screen light is very dim hard to see wt should i do ?

[MinecraftMiner1000]

i droped mne in the toilet and left it for over 8months! hwhat shell i do

[ehtasham10]

how much do u guys charge

[TechLifeMobile]

@ehtasham10 We charge between $110 and that includes a 90 day warranty. If we are not able to fix it you don't get charged. Please visit our website linked in the description for more information.

[TechLifeMobile]

@ehtasham10 We charge between $110 and that includes a 90 day warranty. If we are not able to fix it you don't get charged. Please visit our website linked in the description for more information.

[themaxx69]

Dude! Your videos are great, but try to talk a little louder or use another recorder. Again, great vids.

[epicduckeh6]

Hi my iphone fell in the sink but it wasnt completely fried it just looses its sound every min or so it works fine but the sound gets lost most of the time

[redrumanc99]

I've cleaned my iphone completely (all the corrosion is gone) but it still doesn't work. It doesn't boot up nor is it recognised by my pc. Some of the contact points on the motherboard did look quite bad. Is there a chance that I can still repair my 3gs?

[D33ZZ]

Hi what happens.. when I phone water damaged never opened but left to dry and then was working .. then sometime a week later no power at all ... dock doest detect it also in tunes .. or no sign of power... what shall I do .. follow this ?

[TechLifeMobile]

@D33ZZ Sounds like a classic case of corrosion eating away at the motherboard even after it has dried. Even if your iPhone is fully functional it may stop working after a few days due to the chemicals that dried on the circuits. With this I would skip the rice and you will need to scrub the iPhone with alchohol and a cotton swab in places that you see corrosion. If that fails you can always try sending it to us for repair. Details are on our website and the link is in the description.

[jaxxboss]

Thanks for the quick response.

[jaxxboss]

Hi ya. Im in jax as well. Do you guys do any soldering of the 6r8 Backlight Coil ?

I have broke down the phone, dried everything and reinstalled and still have the dim light on the lcd. LCD swapped out with a known good one, so Im down to assuming it is the coil.

[TechLifeMobile]

@jaxxboss I wish we had the micro soldering skills but unfortunately we do not. We are sending a iPhone 3Gs back that had the exact same issue after water damage. We fixed everything but the backlight... The only thing i would recommend is using more alcohol and toothbrush on the LCD connector. If that doesn't work the only thing to do is find a new motherboard.

[xkj208]

i dropped my iphone in the toilet, it laid for 3 days. But still almost killed my phone :( The screen works, BUT IS REALLY DARK! what can i do to repair my screen without buying a new screen. Cuz iphone5 is coming anyways :)

[TechLifeMobile]

@xkj208 Buy and install a new LCD. There is no other way around it.

[yourabigwinner]

first off, Awesome video. I am a beginner iphone fix at the moment and I was wondering...is there like a time limit on how long after the water has been submerged into water that it will not work even if you take it all apart and dry it in rice? Or will it always work? And also is the motherboard ever fried? or can it also be cleaned with alcohol and dried with rice everytime to work.

thanks for the video and the help

-Matt

[TechLifeMobile]

@yourabigwinner The longer it goes without being cleaned the worse your chances to save the phone. Saltwater is the worst. No it will not always work. Sometimes the corrosion is too bad and we are unable to save the iPhone. Good Luck.

[kymmburrlee]

Good vid. Except I can hear my phone working, but the screen won't light up, I held the home button to try the voice command and I was able to play my music so I'm assuming it works but my LCD may be fried? Plz help

[TechLifeMobile]

@kymmburrlee Sounds like your LCD is fried. Even in the video I had to replace the LCD. It was working but there were blotchy spots in the background. You should be able to find a LCD on amazon for around $30.00 They are tricky to install and very delicate. If you want you can send us your iPhone and we can install a new one for you. Go to our website for our contact and shipping information.

[BuMirza]

Please reply to the question below.

[BuMirza]

Hi, i have a 3GS that was recently water damaged. After following your instructions, phone does show life now. iTunes reads the phone and I hear the speaker make the charging noise but there is no display on the screen. I made sure LCD is good and still no response. Please help! Thanks

[TechLifeMobile]

@BuMirza First plug it into a power source and do a hard reset by holding the power button and home button at the same time for 15 seconds. If that does not work how did you make sure the LCD was functional? Did you use it in another working iPhone 3Gs? That is the only way we can tell if parts are still good. If your LCD is fully functional with the other iPhone 3Gs then check for corrosion on the area that you plug it in to the motherboard. Good Luck.

[curgilanthony]

can u use witch hazel to evaporate da water

[TechLifeMobile]

@curgilanthony

I have never tried witch hazel. Just run to walmart or any pharmacy and pick up alcohol.

[maiybarra]

I have done this and yeah my phone is now powered on and all my apps are there, however my phone now reads "NO SERVICES" and I have been watching many video on how to fix that, but still no luck!! Any suggestions???

[maiybarra]

I have done this and yeah my phone is now powered on and all my apps are there, however my phone now reads "NO SERVICES" and I have been watching many video on how to fix that, but still no luck!! Any suggestions???

[HONDAPA26]

in a dark room, and 2. the button on the top right of the phone does not work, therefore I cannot turn my phone off. Should I take my phone apart completely as you did in this video to check for any remaining moisture, or should I just by a new LCD screen and simply replace it. Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance. Great video too! Especially the music:)

[TechLifeMobile]

@HONDAPA26

Sorry for the delay in response. Yeah most likely your LCD and your headphone jack assembly needs to be replaced. You can send the iPhone to us if you want and we can get it replaced for you. The headphone jack assembly is kind of a pain... there is also a possibility that there is just corrosion on the motherboard that just needs to be cleaned with alcohol.

[HONDAPA26]

...I then took the sim card out, and put the phone in a ziplock bag full of rice. I left it for 3 days, until I could no longer see any trace of water under the screen, plugged it in to my computer, and after about 5 minutes it turned on. I quickly synced the phone, let it charge completely, and then got my wife to call me. My phone rang, I could hear her voice, and she could hear mine. So, my phone is now fully functional except for two things: 1. I cannot see the anything on the screen if I am

[HONDAPA26]

I left my 3gs in one of the console's of my uncle's chapparal last weekend, only to find it almost fully submerged in water 2 hours after washing the boat. when i found it, the phone was still on with a message appearing saying something like "no sim card found." the message was extremely dim, in fact, I could only see the message when I would tilt the phone at just the right angle using the sunlight. I immediately attempted to turn the phone off, but was unsuccessful in doing so...

[HONDAPA26]

ocean's eleven, final scene, in the background?

[cutecat13095gmail]

im in the process of of doing this, i will comment back tommorrow to see if it worked! hope it does! 500 contacts not backed up!!!! need this to work!

[maiiko2912]

well my friend dropped her iphone 3gs in a eski without realising and it was left there for an hour ive got that phone now she gave it to me for free cause i said i'd want to fix it would this still work after almost 6 months? if not what other ways besides for taking it to the mobile repair store do i have?

[Ndev07]

thank you for sharing, your instructions are excellent .

I've recently had a glass filled with coke spill over my iPhone. i was non the wiser that id cause any damage until i realized it no longer charges. ive tried multiple chargers, so im sure its not that. my question , if its just the dock connector (hopefully) at fault, is it hard to replace and how much do they cost? many thanks

[TechLifeMobile]

@Ndev07

If it is the dock connector you have to take out the motherboard to replace it. You can find one for 20 to 30 dollars on ebay or amazon. We normally charge 50 to replace it for you...but only if you live in Jacksonville Florida. Right now we are currently not accepting iphones being mailed into us but we are working on setting up a system for it.

[khairulafham8990]

hye,i have a water damage iphone 3g,and i put in the rice for 2days,but after i opened it i saw there was still water on screen,so i put it back to rice..but after a day when i checked it,my iphone is totally off and cannot be turned on.is the iphone had short circuit already?

[code0304]

hey i drop mine in salt water in the beach , you thing that tutorial will help me?? i took it apart and everything what u think that i should do to fix it?

[TechLifeMobile]

@code0304

Salt and chlorine are pretty harsh on any electronics. It will not hurt to try but most likely you will have to replace a few parts. Look for corrosion and salt deposits on the motherboard and use alcohol with a cotton swap to clean it out. Give it a try!

@Jacno77

Yeah uncooked rice is ideal for absorbing moisture.

[code0304]

@TechLifeMobile like what parts the LED??



[Jacno77]

awesome, so did you end up swabbing the parts with alcohol after the rice part?

[TechLifeMobile]

@Jacno77

I used alchohol to swab the motherboard prior to placing everything in rice. On another note the LCD was fine after being placed in rice as well. I am trying to do some research on ultrasonic cleaners. My understanding is they seem to work the best.

[Jacno77]

@TechLifeMobile what does rice do? dry it up?

[ClassyKari90]

Hello, I have a water damged iPhone 3g but it has been like that for a while like days.

When I connect it to the computer it still shows the apple logo.

Do you think if I do what you did on the vid it will fix or its too late?

[TechLifeMobile]

@ClassyKari90

Yes! Do not hesitate to take apart your iPhone and place everything in rice. If it is already dry use cotton swaps dipped in a small amount of alcohol to rub off the water residue on the motherboard. Same thing with the battery connectors. Also make sure the rubbing alcohol is dried off before puting it back together. I may have to post another video on how to remove the metal plates from the motherboard.